SCA MORNING PRESS CLIPS
Prepared for the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
TO: | SCA & Staff |
DATE: | Monday, September 30, 2024 6:30 AM ET |
Afghanistan
Taliban push back against allegations of gender bias, rights abuses (VOA)
VOA [9/27/2024 9:48 PM, Ayaz Gul, 4566K, Neutral]
Taliban leaders in Afghanistan have defended their Islamist rule amid intensified accusations of "gender-based" discrimination against women and girls at this week’s U.N. General Assembly.
"The situation is not as it is portrayed and propagated abroad," Maulavi Abdul Kabir, the Taliban deputy prime minister for political affairs, asserted in an interview with an Afghan television channel aired Friday.
Kabir’s comments came a day after nearly two dozen countries jointly supported Germany, Canada, the Netherlands and Australia in their initiative to hold the Taliban accountable for their alleged campaign to systematically exclude women from public life since the Taliban regained power in 2021.
The de facto Afghan rulers have imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law, known as Sharia. The enforcement includes banning girls’ secondary school education, prohibiting Afghan women from most workplaces, and requiring them not to speak aloud and to cover their faces and bodies in public.
Kabir, while speaking to the local Ariana News station on Friday, asserted that Western allegations of the Taliban driving women out of public spaces were misplaced, insisting that the human rights of all Afghans are protected under Islamic principles.
"Education for girls beyond the sixth grade and at universities is currently suspended," he responded when asked when secondary schools would reopen for girls. "The Islamic Emirate has not decided to keep them closed indefinitely, nor has the cabinet approved any such policy," Kabir reiterated, using the official title of their government in Kabul.However, the Taliban deputy prime minister said that women are allowed to pursue education in religious seminaries, known as madrassas, across Afghanistan, including in the capital.
"There are female teachers. It is a single-sex Islamic educational system that requires hijab under the prevailing societal norms. It also permits women to pursue medical education," Kabir stated.
He said that the Taliban government employs 85,000 women in health, immigration, education, passport and other departments. "There are hospitals in Kabul being run by female directors," Kabir said.
Nations urge Taliban to address concerns
Countries such as Spain, Sweden, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Finland, Honduras, Ireland, Iceland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malawi, Morocco, Moldova and Romania are supporting the four-nation push to start proceedings against the Taliban at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
The United States in not a member of the ICJ.
In their joint statement issued in New York on Thursday, these countries urged the Taliban to respect international treaties on eliminating discrimination against women, to which Afghanistan is a party.
They hailed the initiative spearheaded by Germany, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands to push proceedings against the Taliban, urging the de facto Taliban authorities to address international concerns or face the legal challenge.
"This action is without prejudice to our firm position that we do not politically recognize the Taliban de facto authorities as the legitimate representation of the Afghan population," the statement stressed. "Afghanistan’s failure to fulfill its human rights treaty obligations is a key obstacle to normalization of relations."
The Taliban government is not formally recognized by any country, nor is it allowed to represent Afghanistan at the United Nations, mainly over human rights concerns.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on the sidelines of this week’s General Assembly that the Taliban’s treatment of women can be compared to "some of the most egregious systems of oppression in recent history."
"We will continue to amplify the voices of Afghan women and call for them to play a full role in the country’s life, both inside its borders and on the global stage," he said.
Kabir criticized the U.N. for not granting the Afghanistan seat at the world body to the Taliban.
"We have met our obligations," he said. "The Islamic Emirate controls the entire geographical territory of the country. People are satisfied with us, and we are governing with the help of the people." A child bride won the right to divorce - now the Taliban say it doesn’t count (BBC)
BBC [9/28/2024 4:14 PM, Mamoon Durrani and Kawoon Khamoosh, 67.2M, Negative]
There is a young woman sheltering under a tree between two busy roads clutching a pile of documents to her chest.
These pieces of paper are more important to Bibi Nazdana than anything in the world: they are the divorce granted to her after a two-year court battle to free herself from life as a child bride.
They are the same papers a Taliban court has invalidated - a victim of the group’s hardline interpretation on Sharia (religious law) which has seen women effectively silenced in Afghanistan’s legal system.
Nazdana’s divorce is one of tens of thousands of court rulings revoked since the Taliban took control of the country three years ago this month.
It took just 10 days from them sweeping into the capital, Kabul, for the man she was promised to at seven to ask the courts to overturn the divorce ruling she had fought so hard for.
Hekmatullah had initially appeared to demand his wife when Nazdana was 15. It was eight years since her father had agreed to what is known as a ‘bad marriage’, which seeks to turn a family "enemy" into a "friend".
She immediately approached the court – then operating under the US-backed Afghan government - for a separation, repeatedly telling them she could not marry the farmer, now in his 20s. It took two years, but finally a ruling was made in her favour: "The court congratulated me and said, ‘You are now separated and free to marry whomever you want.’"
But after Hekmatullah appealed the ruling in 2021, Nazdana was told she would not be allowed to plead her own case in person.
"At the court, the Taliban told me I shouldn’t return to court because it was against Sharia. They said my brother should represent me instead," says Nazdana.
"They told us if we didn’t comply," says Shams, Nazdana’s 28-year-old brother, "they would hand my sister over to him (Hekmatullah) by force."
Her former husband, and now a newly signed up member of the Taliban, won the case. Shams’ attempts to explain to the court in their home province of Uruzgan that her life would be in danger fell on deaf ears.
The siblings decided they had been left with no choice but to flee.
When the Taliban returned to power three years ago, they promised to do away with the corruption of the past and deliver "justice" under Sharia, a version of Islamic law.
Since then, the Taliban say they have looked at some 355,000 cases.
Most were criminal cases - an estimated 40% are disputes over land and a further 30% are family issues including divorce, like Nazdana’s.
Nazdana’s divorce ruling was dug out after the BBC got exclusive access to the back offices of the Supreme Court in the capital, Kabul.
Abdulwahid Haqani - media officer for Afghanistan’s Supreme Court - confirms the ruling in favour of Hekmatullah, saying it was not valid because he "wasn’t present".
"The previous corrupt administration’s decision to cancel Hekmatullah and Nazdana’s marriage was against the Sharia and rules of marriage," he explains.
But the promises to reform the justice system have gone further than simply reopening settled cases.
The Taliban have also systematically removed all judges – both male and female – and replaced them with people who supported their hardline views.
Women were also declared unfit to participate in the judicial system.
"Women aren’t qualified or able to judge because in our Sharia principles the judiciary work requires people with high intelligence," says Abdulrahim Rashid, director of foreign relations and communications at Taliban’s Supreme Court.
For the women who worked in the system, the loss is felt heavily - and not just for themselves.
Former Supreme Court judge Fawzia Amini - who fled the country after the Taliban returned - says there is little hope for women’s protections to improve under the law if there are no women in the courts.
"We played an important role," she says. "For example, the Elimination of Violence against Women law in 2009 was one of our achievements. We also worked on the regulation of shelters for women, orphan guardianship and the anti-human trafficking law, to name a few."
She also rubbishes the Taliban overturning previous rulings, like Nazdana’s.
"If a woman divorces her husband and the court documents are available as evidence then that’s final. Legal verdicts can’t change because a regime changes," says Ms Amini.
"Our civil code is more than half a century old," she adds. "It’s been practised since even before the Taliban were founded.
"All civil and penal codes, including those for divorce, have been adapted from the Quran."
But the Taliban say Afghanistan’s former rulers simply weren’t Islamic enough.
Instead, they largely rely on Hanafi Fiqh (jurisprudence) religious law, which dates back to the 8th Century – albeit updated to "meet the current needs", according to Abdulrahim Rashid."The former courts made decisions based on a penal and civil code. But now all decisions are based on Sharia [Islamic law]," he adds, proudly gesturing at the pile of cases they have already sorted through.
Ms Amini is less impressed by the plans for Afghanistan’s legal system going forward.
"I have a question for the Taliban. Did their parents marry based on these laws or based on the laws that their sons are going to write?" she asks.
Under the tree between two roads in an unnamed neighbouring country, none of this is any comfort to Nazdana.
Now just 20, she has been here for a year, clutching her divorce papers and hoping someone will help her.
"I have knocked on many doors asking for help, including the UN, but no-one has heard my voice," she says.
"Where is the support? Don’t I deserve freedom as a woman?" Afghan Embassy In UK Shutters After Taliban Cuts Ties (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [9/27/2024 4:35 PM, Staff, 386K, Neutral]
Afghanistan’s embassy in London closed on Friday after Taliban authorities cut ties with diplomatic missions set up by the previous government in Kabul and fired its UK staff.An AFP reporter saw a notice hung on the gate to the consular section reading: "The embassy of the Republic of Afghanistan is closed."No one answered the door but the country’s flag was still flying.Afghan ambassador to the UK Zalmai Rassoul announced on social media earlier this month that the embassy would close "at the official request of the host country" on September 27.The UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) denied that it was behind the closure."This decision was not made by the UK government," a spokesperson said. "The State of Afghanistan decided to close the Afghan Embassy in London and dismiss its staff."We continue to support the people of Afghanistan and provide humanitarian assistance to those most in need."The FCDO has not indicated whether a new Afghan ambassador would be accredited in London.The UK does not recognise the Taliban government as legitimate and does not have formal diplomatic relations with the country.But in line with the United States and the European Union, London acknowledges that there is "no alternative to engaging pragmatically with the current administration of Afghanistan".The UK mission to Afghanistan is currently based in Doha.The Afghan embassy’s consular section in London closed on September 20, according to its website.On Friday, Rassoul reposted an X post in which the German ambassador to the UK said it was a "pleasure" to work with his Afghan counterpart over the years and condemned the "appalling situation for women and girls under the Taliban".Over the past three years, the Taliban has imposed an austere interpretation of Islam and progressively driven women out of public spaces.Despite the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, embassies continued to operate with diplomatic staff loyal to the previous foreign-backed government.At the end of July, the Taliban foreign affairs ministry said it "bears no responsibility" for credentials including passports and visas issued by missions out of step with Kabul’s new rulers.These include Afghan embassies in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Canada and Australia.The Taliban government has said Afghans living abroad should deal instead with missions affiliated with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan -- its self-styled name for the country since taking over.The authorities have not been officially recognised by any country, but Pakistan, China and Russia are hosting Afghan embassies working on order from the Taliban government.Diplomats at the UK embassy have reportedly been advised to leave the UK or apply for political asylum, according to the BBC. ‘Treated Like Criminals’: Iran Intensifies Deportation Of Afghans (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [9/30/2024 12:00 AM, Kian Sharifi, 235K, Negative]
Every day, hundreds of Afghans, some holding their children, are deported from neighboring Iran.
Many of them crossed into Iran illegally to escape the brutal rule of the Taliban and the devastating humanitarian and economic crises gripping Afghanistan.
In the Afghan border town of Islam Qala, where the deportees are registered with the United Nations, many say they were mistreated by the Iranian authorities.
"They grab Afghan migrants and take them to camps," Yaqub Mohammad told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi, adding that they received little food and water. "They treated us like criminals."
Gul Lalai, another recent deportee, told Radio Azadi that he was "humiliated and beaten up" at a police station in Iran before being expelled from the country.
Iran’s deportation of Afghans has intensified in recent months, according to Taliban officials who say as many as 3,000 Afghans are deported from Iran daily. Over half a million Afghans have been forcibly evicted from Iran so far this year, Taliban officials said.
Anti-Afghan Sentiment
The rate of deportation has increased as anti-Afghan sentiment soars in Iran, which witnessed a major influx of Afghan refugees and migrants following the Taliban’s forcible seizure of power in 2021.
Earlier this month, Iranian police chief Ahmad Reza Radan said the country planned to expel some 2 million Afghans by March 2025.
The announcement came soon after Iranian lawmakers drafted a bill that would reduce the total number of migrants, mostly Afghans, living in the Islamic republic by 10 percent every year.
The United Nations’ refugee agency, UNHCR, estimates that some 4 million Afghans reside in Iran, most of them undocumented migrants. Iranian media say there are up to 8 million Afghans in the country.
Iran’s military on September 23 said it had built a wall along more than 10 kilometers of its 900-kilometer eastern border with Afghanistan, the main entry point for refugees and migrants.
Reports have recently emerged of Afghans being banned from buying subsidized bread in the southern Kerman Province, home to a large Afghan community.
Rising Harassment, Abuse
Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said earlier this month that the issue of illegal migrants was a "sensitive" topic and warned that the government’s policies should not fan anti-migrant sentiment.
His comments came amid a rise in attacks against Afghans in Iran.
In August, a video of an Afghan teenager being violently pinned to the ground by Iranian police sparked outrage.
Afghans in Iran have long faced discrimination and harassment. But they say the pressure on them is now growing.
"We have lots of problems here," Omid Poya, an exiled Afghan journalist living in Iran, told Radio Azadi. "Afghans here are facing discrimination and persecution."
Hudaya Sahibzada, an Afghan human rights activist, called on Iran to stop the deportation of Afghans, particularly those at risk of retribution from the Taliban."The forcible deportation of Afghan refugees from Iran has intensified," she told Radio Azadi. "Among those deported have been journalists, former soldiers, and activists. Some of them have been killed." Pakistan
Pakistanis protesting Hezbollah leader’s killing clash with Karachi police (Reuters)
Reuters [9/29/2024 7:15 PM, Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam, 37270K, Negative]
Stone-throwing protesters in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi clashed on Sunday with police who stopped them from reaching the U.S. consulate during demonstrations over Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.Protesters chanted “Death to America,” while carrying posters of Nasrallah.Police said seven officers were injured and receiving treatment in hospital from stones thrown by protesters."Police had to resort to baton charging and tear gas against those who breached the cordons in a bid to disperse the crowd," said Police Deputy Inspector General Asad Raza, adding that protesters had tried to reach areas beyond cordons agreed upon with organisers in advance.He said police would register criminal cases against protesters who acted violently.Pro-Iran Shi’ite religious political party Majlis Wahadatul Muslimeen had organised the rally of around 3,000 people in the country’s most populous city.Following the death of Nasrallah - killed in an airstrike in Beirut on Friday - Hezbollah fired new fusillades of rockets into Israel, while Iran said his death would be avenged. Pakistani Police, Pro-Hezbollah Protesters Clash In Karachi (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [9/29/2024 2:11 PM, Staff, 1251K, Negative]
Police and pro-Hezbollah protesters clashed in the streets of Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, after demonstrators attempted to access the U.S. Consulate on September 29. Police fired tear gas after protesters threw stones and attempted to cross barriers. The Shi’ite Muslim-led protesters were angered by the Israeli killing of Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon two days earlier. Police said 17 people were injured in clashes. Organizers told RFE/RL about 20 protesters had been arrested. The United States, a close ally of Israel, has designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Pakistan condemned Israel’s attacks in Lebanon, saying they showed "disregard for international law." Gunmen storm a camp in Pakistan’s southwest and kidnap 20 laborers (AP)
AP [9/29/2024 12:34 PM, Staff, 31638K, Negative]
Gunmen stormed a camp in Pakistan’s southwest and kidnapped 20 laborers, police said Sunday. It’s the second assault in as many days in restive Balochistan province, where separatist and militants are stepping up their insurgency against the central government.
The assistant commissioner of Musa Khel district, Dilraj Kalara, said the armed men entered the camp on Sunday morning, torching bulldozers and other machinery and seizing the men.
The workers were staying in a camp set up by a private energy company, Kalara said. Separatists accuse Islamabad of unfairly exploiting oil- and mineral-rich Balochistan at the expense of locals.
Nobody has claimed responsibility for the kidnappings or for the deaths of seven men who were fatally shot at their rented home a day earlier in Panjgur town, also in Balochistan.
All seven were from Punjab, which is in Pakistan’s east, and from the same family. Separatists have often killed workers and others from Punjab to force them to leave the southwest.
On Sunday, Punjab’s Information and Culture Minister Azma Zahid Bokhari said authorities were deeply upset by the Saturday killings.
"I want to know for how long Punjabis will be targeted in Balochistan," Bokhari said at a press conference in Lahore. "I demand the chief minister ensure the safety and security of people from Punjab and take stern action against those targeting them."
Muhammad Mubashir said eight members from his family had gone to Balochistan for work. Only one survived. They were aged between 20 and 40.
The seven were sleeping when two gunmen stormed the room with automatic weapons and began spraying the workers with bullets.
The survivor, Imran, was on the phone when the shooting started and immediately fled, according to another relative, Mudassir Aslam, who spoke to him after the incident.
"Three of them were getting married and their families were busy preparing for their weddings," said Mudassir. "As soon as the news reached our family in Shujabad, there was chaos in our house. It was nothing less than a bomb going off." Seven laborers killed by gunmen in Pakistan’s southern Balochistan (Reuters)
Reuters [9/29/2024 12:31 AM, Saleem Ahmad, 88008K, Negative]
Gunmen killed seven workers in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan late on Saturday, police said.
Armed men stormed a residence where laborers from eastern Punjab province were staying and opened fire with automatic weapons, police said. No one has claimed responsibility.
"Seven laborers have been gunned down by unknown armed men ... in Khuda-i-Abadan area of Panjgur town," Senior Superintendent of Police in Panjgur, Syed Fazil Shah told Reuters, adding one other laborer was injured.
In August, Balochistan suffered some of its most widespread violence in years when separatist militants attacked police stations, railway lines and highways triggering retaliatory operations by security forces.More than 70 people were killed, including Punjab residents visiting or working in the province whose trucks were stopped or were pulled off buses.
Those attacks were claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), one of several ethnic insurgent groups battling the central government, saying it unfairly exploits gas and mineral resources in the province where poverty is rife. It wants the expulsion of Chinese interests and independence for Balochistan. A helicopter crash due to engine failure kills 6 in northwest Pakistan (AP)
AP [9/28/2024 6:56 AM, Staff, 88008K, Negative]
A helicopter crash due to engine failure has killed six people and injured eight others in Pakistan’s northwest, a local police officer said Saturday.
The chartered flight was transporting employees of Mari Petroleum when it crashed in North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to police officer Ahmed Khan.
A security official earlier put the death toll at seven and said that three Russians - two pilots and a crew member - were on board. He didn’t say if they were among the dead. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
There were no signs of sabotage to the Mi-8 helicopter. The injured were taken to a military hospital in the town of Thal, according to the official.
"A technical fault occurred in the helicopter while taking off," the official said. "The tail rotor hit the ground while making an emergency landing and an investigation into the accident has started."
The crash site, Shewa oil field, is about 200 kilometers (124 miles) southwest of the provincial capital, Peshawar. Six people killed in Pakistan helicopter crash, security sources say (Reuters)
Reuters [9/28/2024 6:48 AM, Mushtaq Ali, 37270K, Negative]
At least six people were killed when a charter helicopter crashed in northern Pakistan on Saturday, security sources said.The two sources, who declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak publicly, said the helicopter was chartered by a private company in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.It crashed shortly after take-off in the volatile North Waziristan area near the Afghan border.Around 14 passengers were on board, including Russian pilots, the sources said, adding that eight people were injured in the crash and hospitalised nearby.Pakistan’s armed forces and the civilian aviation sector have suffered several air accidents in the past decade. In 2022, a military helicopter on a training exercise crashed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killing both its pilots.A Pakistan International Airlines Airbus jet crashed into a crowded residential district of the southern city of Karachi in 2020, killing most of the 99 people on board. India
India, US likely to sign pact on critical minerals, sources say (Reuters)
Reuters [9/30/2024 5:29 AM, Shivangi Acharya and Neha Arora, 88008K, Negative]
India and the United States are likely to sign an initial pact for cooperation on critical minerals this week, two government sources said, as the two countries try to bolster trade ties despite diplomatic hiccups.They are expected to sign an agreement to partner and cooperate in the area of critical minerals during Indian trade minister Piyush Goyal’s visit to Washington, the sources said.Goyal is scheduled to be in the U.S. this week to discuss ways to deepen overall bilateral trade ties, according to one of the sources, weeks before the White House’s preparation for a leadership change following the presidential election later this year.Goyal is expected to meet U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai this week, according to a statement from the Indian government.Earlier this month, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden met in Delaware one-on-one as well as part of the Quad grouping which also includes the leaders of Australia and Japan.The initial pact on critical minerals would help build supply chains, exchange technical know-how, and promote collaboration between Indian and American businesses in the sector, the first official said.India’s federal trade ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters email for comment.Reuters reported in June that state-run Coal India Ltd (COAL.NS), opens new tab is exploring lithium blocks in Argentina along with a U.S. company to secure supplies of the battery material.India has also proposed a separate critical minerals trade deal with the United States. This deal would prohibit the imposition of tariffs by both countries and will be similar to a pact with Japan that grants Japanese automakers wider access to U.S. electric vehicles tax credit.India is a member of the U.S.-led Minerals Security Partnership, which aims to ensure adequate supplies of minerals needed to meet zero-carbon goals. Last year, Modi’s government identified 30 minerals, including lithium and nickel, as critical for driving the adoption of clean energy.India-U.S. bilateral trade in the 2023-24 fiscal year stood at nearly $120 billion, a record high. Under the Biden administration, the two nations mutually resolved all their disputes at the World Trade Organisation, a development India called "historic". Top Kashmir leader says India has silenced dissenting voices as region votes in final phase of polls (AP)
AP [9/30/2024 12:54 AM, Aijaz Hussain, 456K, Neutral]
Ahead of the final phase of a local election in Indian-controlled Kashmir, a key resistance leader says the regional polls to choose a local government will not resolve the decades-old conflict that is at the heart of a dispute between New Delhi and Pakistan.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who has spent most of the last five years under house detention, said the polls are being held as political voices contesting India’s sovereignty over the region remain silenced after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government stripped the region of its long-held semi-autonomy in 2019.
The detained leader said in a phone interview with The Associated Press that the election, touted by the Modi government as a “ festival of democracy “ in the region, cannot be an alternative to resolving the dispute.“These elections cannot be the means to address the larger Kashmir issue,” said Mirwaiz, who is also an influential Muslim cleric and custodian of the six-century-old grand mosque in the region’s main Srinagar city, the urban heartland of anti-India sentiment.
The multistage election, the last phase of which is being held Tuesday, will allow Kashmir to have its own truncated government and a regional legislature with limited powers. It is the first such vote in a decade and the first since 2019, when New Delhi downgraded and divided the former state into two centrally governed union territories — Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir — both ruled directly by New Delhi through unelected bureaucrats.
Authorities have said the election will bring democracy to the region after more than three decades of strife, but many locals see the vote as an opportunity not only to elect their own representatives but also to register their protest against the 2019 changes they fear could dilute the region’s demographics.
India’s clampdown following the 2019 move “has silenced people” in the region who “feel dispossessed and disempowered,” Mirwaiz said.“You may not see active turmoil like before 2019 but there is a strong, latent public resistance to all this,” he said. “We have been forcibly silenced, but silence is not agreement.”
India’s sudden move, which largely resonated in India and among Modi supporters, was mostly opposed in Kashmir as an assault on its identity and autonomy. Fearing unrest, authorities detained Mirwaiz and thousands of other political activists, including Kashmiri pro-India leaders who objected to India’s move, amid an unprecedented security clampdown and a total communication blackout in the region.
The region has since been on edge, with civil liberties curbed and media gagged.
Mirwaiz heads the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, an umbrella grouping that espouses the right to self-determination for the entire region, which is divided between India and Pakistan.According to Mirwaiz, the crackdown has restricted his group’s access to people and shrunk its “space and scope for proactive involvement” like before.“The massive assault has considerably weakened the organizational strength of the Hurriyat, but not its resolve,” he said.
India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, and both countries control parts of the Himalayan territory divided by a heavily militarized frontier. After their first war in 1947, a United Nations referendum a year later gave Kashmir the choice of joining either Pakistan or India, but it never happened. The part of Kashmir controlled by India was granted semi-autonomy and special privileges in exchange for accepting Indian rule.
However, Kashmiri discontent with India soon began taking root as successive Indian governments started chipping away at that pact. Local governments were toppled and largely peaceful anti-India movements were harshly suppressed.
In the mid-1980s, an election that was widely believed to have been rigged led to public backlash and an armed uprising. Since then, rebels have been fighting in the Indian-controlled part for a united Kashmir, either under Pakistani rule or independent of both.
Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ goal. India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle.
Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.
Mirwaiz’s group believes only talks between India, Pakistan and the region’s people can end the conflict. In the past, he has held several rounds of talks with both New Delhi and Islamabad leaders, including their heads of government. However, under Modi, India has shifted its Kashmir policy and stopped engaging with the region’s pro-freedom leaders, including Mirwaiz.
Previous elections in the region have been marred by violence, boycotts and vote-rigging, even though India called them a victory over separatism. This time, the pro-freedom groups, largely incapacitated with most of their leaders jailed, have issued no calls for boycotts.
They also did not boycott India’s recent general election. Instead, some lower-ranking activists, who in the past dismissed voting as illegitimate under military occupation, are running for office as independent candidates.“Boycott was the democratic means to express anger, reject this projection and draw attention towards the unsolved issue (of Kashmir),” Mirwaiz said. But India’s crackdown has left people “powerless and disempowered” and in such a scenario a “poll boycott cannot work anymore.”
Mirwaiz has distanced himself from the election, but said it had been engineered in favor of Modi’s Hindu nationalist politics before it started on Sept. 18.
He cited the government’s July amendment to legislation that gives sweeping executive powers to the federally appointed administrator even after a new local government comes to power in the region. He also referred to the redrawing of assembly districts in 2022 as “electoral gerrymandering,” an act that gave more electoral representation to the Hindu-dominated Jammu areas over the region’s overwhelmingly Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley.
Mirwaiz, however, hoped Kashmiri groups, including pro-India parties, would jointly seek a resolution of the conflict. He expressed his willingness to engage in talks with India but warned that the election should not be seen as public acceptance of New Delhi’s changes in the region.
Public participation in the election, Mirwaiz said, “is a release of their pent-up emotions and a means to oppose these disempowering and dispossessing measures, besides hoping to get some relief and redressal for their bread and butter issues.” India’s Manipur suffers fresh violence in bloody ethnic conflict (Nikkei Asia)
Nikkei Asia [9/29/2024 10:43 PM, Greeshma Kuthar, 2376K, Negative]
Indian army soldier Thanglenlal Lhungdim had insisted that his parents flee their village in violence-wracked Manipur and stay with him nearly 1,500 kilometers away in bustling Kolkata.But the couple returned home in a fateful decision that cost Lhungdim’s 46-year-old mother her life in this remote northeastern pocket of the country torn apart by bloody ethnic conflict.Months later, Lhungdim travelled a grueling 80 hours to reach his mother’s funeral in Manipur, a state on the border with Myanmar."I am the eldest, I cannot break down. You’ve no idea what is going through my head," the 30-year-old told Nikkei Asia, laying flowers by a portrait of his beloved mother at her grave. "As an army man, I’ve been protecting my country, but I couldn’t protect my own mother."His mother Nengjakhol -- shot dead by insurgents this month in a fresh spasm of violence -- is buried at a graveyard filled with victims of a conflict that has dragged on for more than a year and killed about 230 people, with tens of thousands more displaced by the fighting.Manipur’s violence stems from conflict between the region’s Hindu majority Meitei people and the minority Christian Kuki-Zo, with the two communities divided by a buffer zone patrolled by federal security forces. The Kuki-Zo control hills surrounding the Meitei-controlled Imphal Valley.The state capital Imphal has witnessed brutal scenes including public lynchings, sexual assault and widespread arson of property, including churches.The state government, controlled by lawmakers in India’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, has been accused of siding with the majority Meitei, while Meitei-aligned militias have faced claims of committing extra-judicial killings.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has yet to visit the strife-torn region since fresh conflict broke out in May last year.The U.S. State Department’s annual human rights report this year pointed to "significant" rights abuses in Manipur, a study rejected by India’s foreign ministry as "deeply biased."In mid-September, India’s government said it was pushing to resolve the conflict while internet and mobile data services were restored after a brief shutdown."We hope that we will be able to bring the situation (in Manipur) under control," Home Minister Amit Shah told reporters. But "if both (ethnic groups) do not come to an understanding, there won’t be a resolution to the matter."Longstanding tensions between the groups over land claims and job opportunities soared when a court recommended that the majority Meitei, who make up over half the population, be granted status rights like those given to Kuki-Zo, a group accounting for less than 20% of Manipur’s people.The intense fighting has severed easy travel for Kuki-Zo living in Imphal, forcing them to take circuitous routes to reach their hillside villages -- a challenge that slowed Thanglenlal’s trip to attend his mother’s funeral this month.About 30 Meitei insurgents had surrounded the family’s village, launching a bomb-and-gunfire attack, according to authorities. Security personnel guarding the village of 80 residents returned fire but it took four hours to drive away the men who had set fire to whatever they could.Nengjakhol’s husband noticed his wife was missing and a search operation was launched. He later found her face down dead with bullet and shrapnel wounds.When Nikkei Asia visited the remote village inaccessible by vehicle, all of the Kuki-Zo residents had fled.The fresh violence began at the start of September, with the killing of 31-year-old N. Surbala in the Meitei village of Koutruk, a scene of frequent gun battles. The woman’s daughter and seven other residents were injured in the attack by Kuki-Zo insurgents.In Moirang, a small Meitei town about 45 km outside Imphal, a homemade bomb killed a 70-year-old priest this month when it crashed into a compound that is home to Mairembam Kelvin, the great-grandson of Manipur’s first chief minister.While Modi’s government has said it’s making strides in reducing violence, Kelvin has no trust in the state or central governments’ ability to end the civil war."Are we being ignored because we are a small state in the northeast?" he asked. "Don’t our fellow Indians care about us?" India Eases Export Restrictions on Non-Basmati White Rice (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [9/28/2024 7:38 AM, Pratik Parija, 27782K, Negative]
India loosened restrictions on some rice exports, a move that may ease global prices and signal a shift in domestic agricultural policies following recent national elections.The government lifted a ban on non-basmati white rice shipments, and set a minimum export price of $490 per ton, according to a notification from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade. On Friday, authorities cut a tax on overseas sales of parboiled rice to 10% from 20%.The world’s top exporter started curbs in 2022 in an effort to ensure domestic food security and tame inflation. That caused the Asian benchmark price to climb to the highest since 2008 and forced major consumers to seek supplies from other countries. The staple is vital to diets of billions of people across the planet.While the move was largely successful in stabilizing local prices, US Department of Agriculture data showed India is now saddled with record stockpiles. The latest policy moves could help ease that glut and cut import costs for countries such as Indonesia and Senegal.Rice exports fell almost 25% from a year earlier to 5.26 million tons in the first four months of the fiscal year that started on April 1, according to government data.Bloomberg News reported in July that India was planning to relax curbs on some varieties to avoid a glut in the country before the new crop arrives in October.Indian farmers have started harvesting monsoon-sown rice crops following good rainfall. Plantings have been higher than a year earlier.The government also set an export duty of 10% on the unmilled variety, according to the notification published on Friday. Overseas shipments of white rice will not attract any levy, it said. America should welcome India’s rise as a space power (The Hill – opinion)
The Hill [9/29/2024 11:00 AM, Mark R. Whittington, 19591K, Positive]
India has already accomplished great things in space.It has orbited the moon three times and landed on the lunar surface once with its Chandrayaan missions. India has orbited Mars, with its Mangalyaan probe, launched two astronomy missions, the AstroSat and the X-Ray Polarimeter Satellite and a solar mission, the Aditya-1.The Indian Space Research Organization is already planning its own crewed spacecraft, the Gaganyaan, which will start uncrewed orbital test flights shortly. The astronauts for the first crewed flight have already been announced.Now, according to Space News, the Indian cabinet has authorized several additional space projects. These include the Chandrayaan-4 lunar sample return mission, the Venus Orbiter Mission, a reusable launch vehicle, and the first Bharatiya Antariksh Station space station module.India’s ambition to become a major space power is breathtaking. The country wants to be on par with both the U.S. and China. By way of comparison, while Japan and the European Space Agency are space powers, neither have any serious ambitions to fly humans into space using their own vehicles.Space exploration has usually been characterized by rivalry between superpowers. From the start of the Apollo program to the fall of the Soviet Union, the rivalry was between the U.S. and the USSR. In modern times, the space race has been between the United States and its allies and China.We’re about to enter an era in which two of the three space superpowers, defined as countries that can launch people into space, are allies against the third one. The situation sets up an interesting dynamic that the United States and India both can use to their mutual advantage.To be sure, Russia is still flying people into space. But it is a space power in decline, likely to become irreversible unless Moscow takes some drastic action. A good first step would be to stop the running sore in Ukraine and concentrate on economic and technological development.Of the proposed projects that the Indian cabinet has authorized, the reusable launch vehicle will be the most challenging. NASA tried over decades to create a reusable launcher, first with the space shuttle, then with projects such as the Delta Clipper (which it inherited from the military) and the X-33 Venture Star.It took an unlikely space entrepreneur, an immigrant from South Africa named Elon Musk, to crack the reusable rocket problem. Musk has taken his company SpaceX from an upstart enterprise to the dominant force in the space launch business with its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. Two books by space journalist Eric Berger, Liftoff and Reentry, tell the story of that rise to power.Currently, SpaceX is working on Starship, a massive rocket that promises to open the moon, Mars and space beyond to human activity.The question arises whether India wants to develop a reusable rocket in-house, as an Indian Space Research Organization program, or commercially. China is seeking its own reusable launch vehicle commercially with little success so far, as Ars Technica suggests.One reason development of an Indian reusable rocket is a welcome event is that, as space analyst and founder of Astralytical Consulting points out, a huge bottleneck exists for launch payloads, even though SpaceX is likely to achieve 100 or more launches in 2024. SpaceX’s rivals, including United Launch Alliance, Blue Origin, and Rocket Lab, are nowhere near to achieving SpaceX’s launch cadence. An Indian reusable launcher could help relieve that bottleneck.The U.S. can and should aid India’s rise as a space power by sharing data derived from NASA planetary missions in exchange for data from Indian missions, such as the Venus Orbital Mission and the Chandrayaan-4. NASA can also include more Indian astronauts on tours of the International Space Station and, later, future commercial stations. It could also include at least one Indian astronaut on an Artemis mission to the lunar surface.Once the Gaganyaan spacecraft is operational, NASA should execute an agreement to have it take astronauts to and from the ISS, similar to the one NASA has for the Russian Soyuz.An American-Indian space alliance would be similar to the one that NASA forged with Russia in the 1990s after the Soviet Union collapsed. The Russian alliance has chilled considerably, due to Vladimir Putin’s adventure in Ukraine. An alliance with India should be more enduring, not the least because the two countries have a mutual enemy in China. NSB
Bangladesh at crossroads as it pursues sweeping constitutional reform (VOA)
VOA [9/29/2024 12:49 PM, Masood Farivar, 4566K, Neutral]
As Bangladesh pursues constitutional reform, international legal experts say a consensus-based process is vital for creating an enduring charter and ensuring political stability in South Asia’s third most populous nation.
The ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August pushed her Awami League party out of power, raising concerns that a key player could be excluded from a process shaping Bangladesh’s future.
In response, the nine-week interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, recently formed a constitutional reform panel, part of a broader effort to strengthen institutions and avert a return to authoritarian rule.
The panel, one of six reform commissions, faces a dilemma: amend the country’s 52-year-old constitution or begin afresh. A constitutional rewrite could tackle the issues raised by the recent protests that toppled Hasina’s government. Amending the document is quicker but might leave key problems unresolved. Complicating matters, key provisions of the constitution are not amendable.
Regardless of the path Bangladesh takes, the lesson from other countries that have implemented change is unmistakable: Experts say successful reform requires the involvement of all major stakeholders.
"The main task of constitutions is to channel group decisions away from violence into politics," said Tarun Khaitan, a professor of public law at the London School of Economics. "So, what do you do if you’re a group which has no share in political power and no hope of sharing political power any time in the future? You will take to violence."
Yet in a country as deeply divided as Bangladesh, building consensus over a new constitution is a tall order. Two parties - the Awami League and the Bangladesh National Party, or BNP - have dominated politics since its founding in 1971.
Except for two rare moments of unity in the 1990s, each party has "tried to game the system and lock the other out of power," making Bangladesh perennially unstable.
"I think that is the issue that any constitutional settlement has to resolve," Khaitan said.
Three global lessons
Richard Albert, an expert on constitution-making and constitutional design at the University of Texas, noted three lessons that Bangladesh can learn from other parts of the world.
First, the process matters more than the document itself. This means that citizens must be engaged in every step, from providing input to enacting the Charter, Albert said."We know that when people are involved in the constitution-making process… that sets the stage for a stronger, more enduring, more legitimate constitution," Albert, who sits on Jamaica’s constitutional reform committee, said in an interview with VOA.
Second, resist turning the constitution into a wish list. Many countries make the mistake of including too many promises that they cannot deliver.
The rules enshrined in a constitution, Albert said, "must mean something when they’re written in the text of the country’s higher [or highest] law."
Third, the people are the ultimate source of legitimacy for a constitution, Albert said. The document must embody the values and aspirations of the citizens.
"They don’t have to be involved in the writing, the drafting, the deliberation of the constitution, but the people must feel and believe that the constitution represents them," Albert said.
There are other lessons too. While public participation is important, the consent of major social and political groups is paramount, Khaitan said. Without a "consensual process," he said, minority groups can find themselves left out.
Case in point: Nepal, where the minority Madhesis were sidelined despite broad public participation in the making of the 2015 constitution.
Lesson from Chile
Elsewhere, a lack of consensus has led to outright rejection of a constitution. Among legal scholars, Chile is the poster child for how not to do constitutional reform. In recent years, two successive governments - one left-leaning, the other right-wing - tried and failed to replace a Pinochet-era constitution with a new one stacked with ideological priorities.
To some constitutional experts, the South American country’s experience suggests that wholesale constitutional overhauls can fail in deeply polarized countries such as Bangladesh.
"Pursuing constitutional replacement processes in such an environment can become an opportunity to fuel intolerance," Aldo Valle, a Chilean lawyer and former vice chairman of the country’s constitutional council, wrote in a blog post in 2023.
Bangladesh’s constitution gives parliament the power to enact amendments.
A 2011 amendment, however, bars changes to basic provisions, from citizens’ fundamental rights to Islam’s designation as the state religion.
Such "constitutional unamendability" is increasingly common around the world, with countries like Turkey and France making certain constitutional provisions unchangeable. In Bangladesh, however, the constitution allows "one to become incredibly powerful and it has some paths for creating autocracy," making a rewrite necessary, Ali Riaz, the country’s constitution panel chief, told The Daily Star newspaper prior to his appointment earlier in September.Waris Husain, an adjunct professor of law at Howard University, said drafting a new constitution is the easier part of constitution-making, and there are many successful models that Bangladesh can draw on. The real challenge, Husain said, is securing the buy-in of all stakeholders.
"One of the things that you wouldn’t want to happen is if you quickly pass a constitution and then subsequently there are so many issues that are raised about it and people haven’t bought into that constitution," Husain said in an interview with VOA.
If Bangladesh were to draft a new constitution and put it to a referendum, it would likely have a higher success rate than pushing through an amendment. According to a 2019 study, 94% of referendums to approve a constitution succeed, while 40% of referendums to amend an existing document fail.
"If the plan in Bangladesh is to have recourse to a referendum, the data will be important to consider," Albert said.
As it nears its second month in office, the interim government faces growing pressure to deliver results. But experts say constitutional reform cannot be rushed through - it took Nepal seven years to enact a new charter.
Yet Bangladesh’s "constitutional moment," a period marked by political turmoil and calls for significant change, can prove fleeting, experts say.
"Public appetite for grand, substantial changes typically remains short-lived," said Khaitan. "Bread and butter issues tend to come to dominate very quickly." Severe floods causing health problems in south Bangladesh (NPR)
NPR [9/27/2024 6:00 AM, Shamim Chowdhury, 40.1M, Negative]
Nurul Haque wades slowly across a murky pool of water. He places one foot cautiously in front of the other, avoiding the dirt and debris that the floods have washed in. He holds his lungi, the sarong-like garment he wears to cover his legs, as high as he can. But it’s soaking by the time he reaches me.
Last month, his humble, two-room house became submerged in 3 feet of water caused by flash floods that swept across huge swaths of northeastern, eastern and southern Bangladesh.
Although most of the water has receded, it is lingering in some of the worst-hit areas of the country.
Haque told me he was terrified when the water started gushing in.“When the floods happened, I was so tense," he said. "I couldn’t sleep. I had no idea where I would go, so I took my wife and children and we went to the shelter.”
Haque is one of an estimated 6 million people who were internally displaced following the worst floods Bangladesh has seen in more than three decades.
Eleven out of the country’s 64 districts were affected.
Haque’s home district of Noakhali is in the south of the country. It’s a five-hour drive south from the capital, Dhaka, and it’s where Haque has lived all his life. He said he had never seen anything like the floods in his entire life.
The shelter Haque went to was one of thousands dotted across northeastern, eastern and southern Bangladesh: schools, mosques and other public buildings provided temporary accommodation for the displaced, while aid agencies and local volunteers distributed food, water and basic hygiene kits.
Many homes were washed away, while others were damaged beyond repair.
Despite this, most people had no choice but to return home a few weeks later.
Haque had planned to earn some money by fishing to pay for his daughter’s wedding. “The fish have all gone," he said. “I had hoped to marry my daughter off. The seedlings have also been washed away. Now I have nothing.”
Haque lifted his threadbare vest to show a deep scar — a reminder of a recent operation on his intestines. He said his stomach hurts when he walks through the waters.
Others with health issues have also suffered.
They also faced other problems. Most of the men in these areas are small-scale farmers or fishermen. They found that the fish, their crops and seedlings had been washed away. Now they are left without an income.
Ashish Damle, Bangladesh country director for Oxfam, explained: “The unique feature of these floods is that people did not get time to prepare themselves. They could just save their lives. The lasting impact is on their livelihoods.”
Damle also explained that the floods were not caused simply as a result of the monsoon rains; industrialization has also played a part.“Within the last two decades, the urbanization in Bangladesh has grown more than 60%,” he said, “which means the areas which were typically known as rural areas or typical villages are now being subjected to more industrial exposure. Urbanization means more population growth in those areas, more construction, and obviously it has an impact on the entire aquatic ecosystem.”
Thofura Bibi, 58, lives in a one-bedroom house with her husband and five children.
During the floods, an entire side of the house was torn apart. All that remains is a mangled mound of sopping wood and rusty metal.
She said walking through the waters has inflamed her joints.“I got joint pain in both my knees from walking through the water all these days,” she said.In many respects, the floods represent the first significant challenge for Bangladesh’s new interim government, headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, to fulfill its commitment to prioritize the needs of the people. Yunus came to power last month.
Local government official Muhammad Sarwar Uddin said the government was providing 200 tons of rice and giving out cash as part of the relief effort.
The fear now is that there will be more floods soon, which the government will struggle to combat.
Damle said: “We are already in a climate emergency, so that means we need to have a consistent long-term sustained response. I think that level of awareness is lacking at all levels, particularly among policymakers.”
When the waters rise again, people like Haque will be the most affected — and most likely they will lose what little they have. Bangladesh defies stereotypes when it comes to health care. Let’s keep it that way (NPR – opinion)
NPR [9/29/2024 2:59 PM, Junaid Nabi, 40.1M, Neutral]
When people think of Bangladesh, they often think of poverty. It was one of the world’s poorest nations when it was created in 1971. And they probably think of political upheaval — this year massive protests led to the resignation of the prime minister. An interim government led by Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus is now in place.
But Bangladesh defies the stereotypes. It has quickly moved up to lower middle-income status (average income is approximately $2,500) and is on track to be unlisted from the U.N. list of least developed nations by 2030.
Along with this rise from poverty, Bangladesh has made remarkable strides in improving its health care. Two statistics illustrate the extent of the progress.
Life expectancy was approximately 58 years in 1990. By 2019, it had risen to 74 years. Those figures are from a series of studies published in The Lancet. And death from all causes saw a steep decline: from 1,500 deaths per 100,000 population in 1990 to 715 deaths in 2019.
What’s more, these public health accomplishments were achieved in a country with a GDP per capita of 2,688.31 U.S. dollars and a 2.36% health expenditure as a share of the gross domestic product. For context, other lower-middle-income countries spend 4% to 6% of their GDP on health and are often not able to accomplish such dramatic improvements.
I was born in Kashmir, so I know the region well. During my medical training, I spent several years in Bangladesh’s Dhaka district. I was impressed by the combination of forces that have led to improvement in health services. With international cooperation and funding, Bangladesh has established community-based efforts led by grassroots health workers and a network of small health centers. These facilities provide reproductive services for women, they promote immunization and they teach about nutrition.A breakthrough in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is also the place where the oral rehydration solution was developed.
It sounds logical — giving a beverage made of salts (especially sodium and potassium), sugar and water to patients with severe diarrhea to restore the fluids and nutrients they’ve lost. But in fact the oral rehydration solution was a remarkable innovation — and it was pioneered by Bangladeshi researchers Rafiqul Islam and Majid Molla from the Cholera Research Laboratory in Dhaka (now known as the the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh — icddr,b, working with American physicians David Nalin and Richard Cash.
Their findings showed that the need for intravenous fluids to treat adult cholera parents dropped by 80% if they were given oral rehydration solution.“Oral rehydration solution is credited with saving more than 50 million lives in the 20th century,” said global health expert Thomas J. Bollyky, the Bloomberg Chair in Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations. The Lancet has hailed it as potentially the most important medical advance of the 20th century.
The question that looms large
But with political upheaval in Bangladesh, societal upheaval could ensue. So the question is: Can Bangladesh maintain its role as a model of health advancements in the Global South — and address new health challenges?
An ongoing priority is to fight communicable diseases. The World Bank has partnered with Bangladesh for 50 years, committing around $40 billion in grants and favorable loans to ensure improved treatment, prevention and referral services for infectious diseases, including mosquito-borne diseases like dengue that are on the rise in this time of climate change even as deaths from many infectious diseases like tuberculosis have decreased.
And new challenges are arising. Bangladesh is seeing an exponential increase in mortality from non-communicable illnesses including diabetes and Alzheimer’s — leading to what epidemiologists refer to as a “double burden.”
The country is also working with a $200 million investment from the World Bank to improve primary health care, such as screening for hypertension. Approved in August 2023, this program needs continued government support to build primary health-care centers and keep monitoring programs on track.
Additional health system challenges include understaffed health-care facilities and prohibitive out-of-pocket expenses that impede access to equitable care.
WHO is already collaborating with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in Bangladesh to create the first national medical education strategy aimed at addressing the country’s severe shortage of trained health-care workers. They’re investing in the development of curriculum, accreditations and faculty.
Global health organizations have a history of supporting countries during such critical times. During a similar political crisis in Sri Lanka in 2022, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria approved $989,687 in emergency funding to ensure distribution of and access to essential medicines.
It is critical that these groups play a vital role during this transition in Bangladesh. The World Health Organization, UNICEF and nongovernmental groups that focus on health and development must unite to protect the country’s progress and sustain momentum on crucial initiatives.
And they will have great support from the people of Bangladesh. I have witnessed their resilience and adaptability. During the infamous Rana Plaza building collapse in Savar that killed more than a thousand garment factory workers in 2013, I volunteered with the International Committee of the Red Cross in Dhaka, providing basic clinical care and teaching preliminary disaster management techniques to Bangladesh Red Crescent Society staff members. Even though it was one of the worst industrial disasters the country had faced, and resources were scarce, people from all social and economic backgrounds came together to volunteer and rescue as many people as physically possible from the rubble of the collapsed factories.
That kind of local and global spirit of collaboration would mean that Bangladesh continues to be an exemplar of how to improve health care in the Global South. Nepal Flooding and Landslides Kill at Least 190 People (New York Times)
New York Times [9/30/2024 12:57 AM, Bhadra Sharma and Anupreeta Das, 831K, Negative]
Police say 193 people have died in Nepal after days of unceasing rain caused heavy flooding and triggered major landslides around the country, including in the densely populated region around Kathmandu, the capital.
The monsoon rains destroyed hundreds of homes and swept away bridges, cut off power and left downed trees as rescuers struggled to reach people, some of whom were trapped under debris while others were stranded on rooftops.
By late Saturday, the rains had lessened in intensity, allowing rescue workers to use helicopters and expand their search to more remote areas in the Dhading and Dolakha districts. More than 3,600 people have been rescued so far, but with more than 100 injured and dozens still missing, government officials said they expected the death toll to rise.
Nepal’s prime minister, K.P. Sharma Oli, who was in the United States attending the U.N. General Assembly meeting, urged Nepalis to have patience, saying on social media that the rains would subside soon.“I’m preparing to return,” Mr. Oli said. “Let’s collaborate for rescue in the time of disaster.”
Nepal, the home of Mount Everest, is prone to landslides and floods because of its mountainous terrain and heavy monsoons. But the warming climate has made weather events more dangerous and deadly, causing frequent flooding from melting glaciers. Climate change has also intensified rainfall. At the same time, rapid development and haphazard construction have added to the risk that lives will be lost in natural disasters.On Saturday afternoon, Satrudhan Kumar Mahato, a police inspector, reached a remote two-story house made of mud and stone whose residents were trapped in the Dolakha district, about three hours from Kathmandu. When Mr. Mahato and his team finally reached the house, they found three members of one family dead and a young child crying next to his dead mother, Mr. Mahato said.“He was lying under the bed and plywood,” Mr. Mahato said. “I carefully removed the plywood of the bed and recovered him.” The child was then rushed to a hospital.
On Sunday, Mr. Mahato and other police officers continued their search-and-rescue operations, unearthing bodies from damaged houses. More than 5,000 police personnel equipped with helicopters, rafts, ropes and vehicles had been deployed.
After retrieving 14 bodies from a small bus that was buried by a landslide late Saturday night in the Dhading district, police officers located another buried bus and a van on Sunday, said Shailendra Thapa, a deputy armed police force superintendent. They retrieved 17 more bodies on Sunday, Mr. Thapa said.
The economic toll on Nepal is likely to be severe. Roads linking Kathmandu to other cities have been damaged, curtailing the transport of essential goods, from food to petroleum.
As many as 16 hydropower projects have sustained damage, forcing the country to import power from India, according to Nepal’s national news agency. Some parts of the country remained dark, and the disrupted power supply also curtailed internet service in Kathmandu and other cities. Flooding deaths in Nepal reach 193 as recovery work is stepped up (AP)
AP [9/30/2024 2:46 AM, Binaj Gurubacharya, 456K, Negative]
The number of people killed by flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rainfall over the weekend in Nepal reached 193 while recovery and rescue work stepped up Monday.
Many of the deaths were in the capital, Kathmandu, which got heavy rainfall, and much of southern part of the city was flooded. Police said in a statement that 31 people were still reported missing and 96 people were injured across the Himalayan nation.
A landslide killed three dozen people on a blocked highway about 16 kilometers (10 miles) from Kathmandu. The landslide buried at least three buses and other vehicles where people were sleeping because the highway was blocked.
Kathmandu had remained cut off all weekend as the three highways out of the city were blocked by landslides. Workers were able to temporarily open up the key Prithvi highway, removing rocks, mud and trees that had been washed from the mountains.
The home minister announced temporary shelters would be built for people who lost their homes and monetary help would be available for the families of those killed and to the people who were injured by the flooding and landslides.
Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli was returning home Monday from attending the U.N. General Assembly meeting and has called an emergency meeting, his office said.
Improved weather has allowed rescue and recovery work to be stepped up.
Residents in the southern part of Kathmandu, which was inundated on Saturday, were cleaning up houses as water levels began to recede. At least 34 people were killed in Kathmandu, which was the hardest hit by flooding.
Police and soldiers were assisting with rescue efforts, while heavy equipment was used to clear the landslides from the roads. The government announced it was closing schools and colleges across Nepal for the next three days.
The monsoon season began in June and usually ends by mid-September.
Meanwhile, in northern Bangladesh, about 60,000 people were affected by flooding in low-lying areas because of rains and rising water from upstream India.
People have taken shelter on roads and flood protection embankments in Lalmonirhat and Kurigram districts, the English-language Daily Star reported.
The River Teesta that crosses the border was overflowing at some points and the Dharala and Dudhkumar rivers in the Rangpur region were rising but remained below danger levels, the Dhaka-based Flood Forecasting and Warning Center said Monday. Waters could start receding in a day or two, it said.
Bangladesh is a low-lying delta nation crisscrossed by about 230 rivers, including more than 50 that cross borders. Nepal begins to assess damage after deadly rains, floods kill 192 (Reuters)
Reuters [9/30/2024 5:43 AM, Gopal Sharma, 88008K, Negative]Nepal began on Monday to grapple with damage wrought by deadly floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains as residents faced the daunting task of cleaning homes and extracting their broken belongings from mud.At least 192 people died and 32 were still missing in two days of incessant rains caused by a low-pressure system in the Bay of Bengal and over areas in India bordering Nepal.In the northern areas of Bangladesh, separated from Nepal by a thin strip of Indian territory, more than 100,000 people were stranded following heavy rains and the onrush of water from upstream, officials said.Hill-ringed Kathmandu Valley, which is home to four million people and the capital, alone saw 56 deaths and suffered one of its worst devastations in recent years where rivers spilled over banks and flooded homes, hospitals, roads, bridges and markets.Prithvi Subba Gurung, a senior minister and cabinet spokesperson, said the government was assessing the extent of damage and the cost of rebuilding.Some weather stations in Kathmandu recorded the highest 24-hour rainfall for decades, officials said.Surya Raj Acharya, an infrastructure and urban planning expert, said haphazard construction and urbanisation in Kathmandu without basic engineering and planning had contributed to the huge damage.“River banks are encroached by people for construction of houses, ignoring the basic enforcement of engineering and planning, without provisions for drainage and sewage system,” he said.“There is no adequate outlet for river water during the rainy season which causes the flood water to enter homes,” Acharya said.Nepal’s geography, terrain, river systems, monsoon patterns and the potential for extreme climate events must be taken into consideration for such planning, Acharya said.Climate scientists echoed his view.“Climate change played a significant role in exacerbating the disaster, compounded by poor urban planning and infrastructure," said Arun Bhakta Shrestha, a climate and environmental risks expert at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).In Bangladesh, vast areas of land in five northern districts have been submerged after the sudden swelling of the Teesta River, which crossed its danger mark at several points, district officials said.The rising waters have devastated large areas of farmland, washing away crops such as paddy and vegetables, along with fish farms, leaving many farmers facing severe losses. Homes, roads, and critical infrastructure have also been inundated, forcing people to flee to higher ground for safety.The situation could worsen in the coming days, with the Bangladesh weather office warning of more rain. Sri Lanka’s new president faces a problem shared by too many developing countries: austerity imposed by the west (The Guardian – opinion)
The Guardian [9/28/2024 5:00 AM, Ahilan Kadirgamar, 92374K, Neutral]
Sri Lanka is at a historic juncture. Faced with its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and having defaulted on its external debt for the first time, the country recently saw unprecedented protests demanding systemic change. The former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa was literally chased away in 2022, as protesters stormed his residence and swam in his pool. The political parties and their offshoots that have ruled the country since independence are unravelling. Take Anura Kumara Dissanayake. He polled just 3.8% of the vote during the previous presidential election in 2019. This week, he was sworn in as president.
The new president belongs to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) party and leads the new centre-left National People’s Power (NPP) coalition. The JVP engaged in two major insurrections in the early 1970s and late 1980s, which resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of lives - mass violence was committed by both the JVP and the state. But the party has come a long way from its mix of revolutionary Marxist-Leninism and Sinhala ethno-nationalism, having moved into the centrist mainstream. From its roots in the rural south of the country, the party remoulded its base in the suburbs and small towns and even wooed the middle classes by taking up the issue of corruption. Its electoral capture of state power was contingent on the unprecedented economic crisis, as it waited patiently for the political winds to turn.
Yet its victory comes during unenviable times, as the bankrupt country is subject to severe austerity measures in line with the conditions of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Washington-based financial institution that has long promoted social welfare cuts on developing countries in the name of the free market.
The previous government did not even consider negotiating terms with the IMF. It was all too willing to grovel before the global powers and ran the economy adhering to the benchmarks and recommendations of western institutions. These economic policies benefited the elite in the country, while the burden from the rise in VAT, the market pricing of energy, the halving of real wages for many and the cost of living doubling have all hit working people. Domestic debt restructuring, pushed by the international bondholders - consisting of large hedge funds and other financiers - was also needed to satisfy the IMF’s debt sustainability analysis (DSA). This now means the retirement funds of working people, such as garment workers and tea pluckers, over the next 16 years are going to lose half their value. Meanwhile, wealthy investors in the financial sector have got away scot-free, with their investments untouched.
The central challenge before Dissanayake is getting a better IMF agreement. And it is this tension between a new president who seeks social change and the old IMF, which remains committed to the interests of global finance and markets, that is likely to play out in the weeks and months ahead.
Sri Lanka is heading for parliamentary elections in seven weeks, and it is Dissanayake’s strength in parliament, and the national consensus he can forge, that will determine his bargaining power with the IMF and the extent to which he can keep the elite in the country at bay.
At the heart of any renegotiation are the IMF’s targets. According to these, Sri Lanka must get its public debt down to 95% of GDP and must spend 4.5% of GDP annually in external debt servicing once the IMF programme is finished. This amounts to 30% of all government revenue going on servicing debt - a great scenario for Sri Lanka’s creditors, particularly international bondholders to whom $12.55bn is owed. But with little debt relief, the reality is that Sri Lanka could end up defaulting again.
In this context, there is mounting pressure on Dissanayake to stay the course with the IMF. From the elite in the capital, Colombo, to the western media, there is much talk that a former Marxist cannot work with the IMF and manage the economy. This amounts to a kind of sabotage. It is important to point out here that while the so-called "IMF bailout" amounts to just about $60m a month for the duration of the programme, Sri Lanka’s foreign earnings (exports, service earnings and worker remittances) every month now are about 30 times that amount, at $1,800m. In other words, the president will not be sticking to the IMF programme for its funds, but due to international political pressure and the fear of isolation.
There are lessons to be learned from elsewhere here - notably Kenya. Its president, William Ruto, was elected in 2022, a year after an IMF agreement, and the red carpets were eventually rolled out for him in Washington for sticking to the neoliberal programme. Yet within two years, massive protests against austerity and state repression have marred the country. In Sri Lanka, as in about 70 developing countries around the world in debt distress, the same questions arise. Do they continue to mortgage their national policies to the bondholders and the IMF, or do they seek alternative avenues of development finance and negotiate their way out of the crippling IMF programmes?
Dissanayake is going to have to walk a tightrope. For a country and people that are going through the worst phase of dispossession since independence, international solidarity should mean providing space for rebuilding the country. For if Dissanayake fails to carry the citizenry, the xenophobic and polarising forces that ravaged Sri Lanka for decades will be waiting in the wings. Central Asia
Kazakh journalists worry as new media rules come into force (VOA)
VOA [9/28/2024 8:43 AM, Naubet Bisenov, 4566K, Neutral]
Media watchdogs and journalists in Kazakhstan have raised fears that new regulations governing reporters, adopted outside a new media law, leave room for authorities to obstruct access to information and limit journalists’ ability to work.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed the media law in June, expanding the definition of media subject to the law to include "internet resources" without specifying what that means. Many journalists distribute information on such channels as Telegram, YouTube and Facebook, which are separate from their accredited outlets.
The law allows the Culture and Information Ministry, which oversees media, to set the rules for accrediting journalists. The regulations, which came into force last month, limit journalists to publishing information in outlets to which they are accredited, preventing them from publishing it in other outlets, and require them to comply with new and unspecified "rules and regulations established by accrediting organization."
Two violations of the rules can lead to suspension of accreditation for six months.
"Any document adopted by a government body, including the Ministry of Culture and Information, undergoes legal expert examination. This means all provisions, all points, comply with the constitution and don’t contradict laws," Culture and Information Minister Aida Balayeva told journalists this month after they raised concerns over the legality of the new regulations.
"When we see that we drift away from the topic of a press briefing and, in fact, our briefings and news conferences shift to some other planes … when there is improper behavior by journalists - here we need regulation," she said.
Astana-based freelance journalist Tamara Vaal, who writes for the country’s leading vlast.kz news site and other outlets, said in a Facebook post that the rules "are a violation of the constitution, direct censorship and a ban on the trade of journalist."
In addition, she said, what the ministry is doing "is nothing but ultimately killing the profession" - journalists in Kazakhstan frequently must supplement their regular income with work for outlets other than the news organizations to which they are accredited.
"Not only do these rules ban us from raising additional income, but also they deprive us of our job because just two violations of rules and regulations and you lose your accreditation for six months," Vaal told VOA.
Vaal said in her post that journalists write for several outlets because "they want to have children, save up for home and live a life at the end of the day, but this is not possible, unfortunately, on just one wage."
Vaal and others VOA spoke to cite the constitutional provisions banning censorship and ensuring citizens’ rights to access information and to work.
Ainur Koskina, another Astana freelance journalist, said she believes the requirement that journalists write for only their accredited outlets would hurt journalists working outside the current and former capitals of Astana and Almaty.
"They write for several outlets, and thanks to this, they can ensure a decent existence for themselves. This opportunity has now been taken away from them. I am afraid local journalism will go extinct, first of all, because of these accreditation rules," Koskina told VOA.
In a statement issued in July when the rules were put up for public discussion, the Almaty-based Adil Soz International Foundation for Freedom of Speech Protection said the new accreditation rules implied that information received from government bodies was not the public domain and was protected by copyright, so it should not be distributed to third parties.
"Adil Soz believes that the rules regulating the work of journalists and media should facilitate access to information, not complicate it," the statement said.
Karlygash Jamankulova, the head of Adil Soz, told VOA that media outlets and journalists - as employers and employees, respectively - could regulate their labor relations themselves and decide whether journalists could work for other outlets. She suggested that while the new rules were vague, it remains to be seen how they would be implemented and how they would affect journalists.
"This kind of issue cannot be disputed by public organizations," she said. "It should be journalists themselves who can take it to court, and if we will have this kind of journalist in Kazakhstan, we are ready to stand by [that journalist] and provide all required legal support."
The head of the Media Qoldau, or Support, legal service, Gulmira Birzhanova, cited what she believes is a recent tendency toward tightening media legislation in Kazakhstan.
"Accrediting organizations, which are state-owned companies along with government bodies, will establish their own rules and regulations, and I am afraid this could be used against journalists in the future," Birzhanova told VOA.
Vaal concluded: "This is a very bad trend, and I don’t know what future holds for Kazakh journalists." Watchdog Urges Bishkek To Drop ‘Contrived’ Charges Against 11 Journalists On Trial (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [9/27/2024 4:14 PM, Staff, 235K, Neutral]
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has urged Kyrgyz authorities to drop the prosecution of 11 current and former staff members from the anti-corruption investigative group Temirov Live and release those in custody.
The CPJ made the call after prosecutors asked a court in Bishkek on September 26 to convict the reporters on charges of "creating an organized criminal group" and "calling for mass riots," which the defendants and their supporters have rejected as politically motivated.
"The conviction of even a single one of the 11 Temirov Live investigative journalists on such clearly contrived and retaliatory charges would deal a further severe blow to Kyrgyzstan’s international reputation," said CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator Gulnoza Said.
"Kyrgyz prosecutors should drop charges against 11 current and former members of Temirov Live, release those remaining in detention, and lift the travel bans against others. The government must stop its relentless campaign against the outlet and its founder, Bolot Temirov."
The journalists went on trial on June 7.
Four of them -- Makhabat Tajibek-kyzy, Azamat Ishenbekov, Aktilek Kaparov, and Aike Beishekeeva -- have been held in pretrial detention since January 16.
The other seven, Maksat Tajibek-uulu, Akyl Orozbekov, Jumabek Turdaliev, Joodar Buzumov, Saparbek Akunbekov, Saipidin Sultanaliev, and Tynystan Asypbekov, were transferred to house arrest amid an outcry from domestic and international human rights groups over the case.
The verdicts and sentences in the case are expected on October 3.
On the day prosecutors requested prison terms for the defendants, a ceremony was held in Prague at which one of the accused, Aike Beishekeeva, was named as the winner of the Gratias Tibi award of Prague-based Clovek v Tisni (People In Need) rights group.
The annual award is given to people younger than 30 for their contributions to defending human rights worldwide.
The founder of Temirov Live investigative group, journalist Bolot Temirov, was deported from Bishkek to Moscow in November 2022 after a court ruled that he illegally obtained Kyrgyz citizenship.
Temirov, who held Kyrgyz and Russian passports, rejected the accusation and insisted the probe against him was launched after he published the results of an investigation suggesting corruption among top Kyrgyz officials.
Kyrgyzstan’s free press and civil society have traditionally been the most vibrant in Central Asia, but that has changed amid a deepening government crackdown.
In early April, President Sadyr Japarov signed into law a controversial bill that allows authorities to register organizations as "foreign representatives," which critics say mirrors a repressive Russian law on "foreign agents" similar to one Moscow uses to muzzle independent journalism and NGOs. Kyrgyzstan: Authorities seek expanded powers to regulate religious affairs (EurasiaNet)
EurasiaNet [9/29/2024 4:14 PM, Ayzirek Imanaliyeva, 57.6K, Neutral]
The window for public comment is closing September 28 on a revived effort to amend Kyrgyzstan’s legal framework covering religious activity. Officials contend the changes are needed to combat extremism and ensure public safety. Critics, however, say the changes would give authorities excessive control over the spiritual life of citizens.
President Sadyr Japarov’s administration first pushed for an overhaul Kyrgyzstan’s religion laws in 2023 but that initial effort stalled. The government renewed its regulatory campaign in late August, introducing two bills that would replace legislation enacted in 2008. After the close of the public comment period, the national parliament, the Zhogorku Kenesh, is expected to take up the bills. If adopted, the new measures could go into effect in early 2025.
The bills contain provisions promoting the strict separation of church and state, retaining Kyrgyzstan’s basic character as a secular society. Under the bills, political parties or associations with an explicitly religious identity or purpose would be prohibited. Politicians would additionally be barred from invoking religious rhetoric in public discussions about policy matters. In addition, clerics and other religious figures would be banned from running for or holding public office, and from campaigning on behalf of candidates. Meanwhile, strict procedures would be implemented to monitor members of the state bureaucracy to ensure their private beliefs aren’t influencing their public responsibilities.
At the same time, the bills would grant wide powers to officials to regulate religious activity and public expressions of faith. Among the more stringent requirements, all religious institutions operating in Kyrgyzstan would need to obtain state registration and would be required to re-register every five years. Engaging in religious activity without official sanction would be a criminal offense. The bills would additionally tighten registration requirements, for example increasing the threshold for numbers of founders required to gain registration for a religious community.
The proposed changes would also vastly increase state oversight of religious education. In predominantly Muslim Kyrgyzstan, the new laws would expand official control over the religious instruction taught in the country’s madrasas. Presently, any officially recognized religious institution is permitted to operate a religious school. Under the proposed new framework, madrasas would require separate operating permits issued by the State Commission on Religious Affairs. In addition, the changes would heighten qualification requirements for religious teachers. And anyone seeking religious training abroad would be required to obtain permission from the state commission.
The government likewise seeks to tighten control over the discussion of religious matters on the Internet. The bills would ban the publication of materials deemed offensive to believers or which promote the superiority of one religious belief over another. Other provisions could potentially punish women who wear religious attire, such as a niqab or burqa, as well as ban door-to-door proselytizing.
Observers say Japarov, along with the head of State Committee for National Security, Kamchybek Tashiev, have designed the proposed changes with the twin aims of increasing state control of religious affairs and restricting the impact of foreign spiritual influences, in particular ultra-conservative Islamic practices frequently associated with militant activity.
Tashiev has publicly expressed concern about proselytizing and educational activities that strive to “Arabize” Kyrgyz citizens and “turn religion in a different direction.” In recent weeks, state-supportive media have published content designed to build public support for the pending changes.
Non-Muslim religious communities in Kyrgyzstan could end up being hurt the most by the changes. Representatives from various religious communities in Kyrgyzstan reported not being consulted about the content of the bills, with some saying they had not even seen the text of the proposed legislation, according to a report published by Forum 18, a news outlet focusing on religious freedom issues. They did not expect that any input they gave would be taken into account by authorities. “I am afraid that if these changes are adopted, and if the authorities continue their past strategies, many Churches will be closed down,” Forum 18 quoted a member of a Protestant religious community as saying. When It Comes To Russia Problems, ‘Uzbekistan’s Zhirinovsky’ Does The Talking (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [9/28/2024 12:20 PM, Chris Rickleton, 1251K, Neutral]
Earlier this week, a violent scene in an Uzbek school turned into an official eyebrow-raising contest between Russia and Uzbekistan.
And on this occasion, Russia’s famously sardonic and combative Foreign Ministry press chief, Maria Zakharova, more than met her match.
The incident took place at a school in the capital, Tashkent, on September 23.
A female teacher in a Russian-language class pulled a 10-year-old student’s ear and slapped his face after he asked her why she was not speaking Russian.
Security-camera footage of the incident went viral on the Internet and sparked strong reactions on Russian social media.On September 25, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in an interview that Russia "has requested official explanations from the Uzbek side" regarding the incident.
Zakharova called for an investigation and added that "action must be taken against the perpetrator of this cruel treatment."
Russia’s decision to wade into Uzbek classrooms, in turn, sparked strong reactions in Uzbekistan.
Cue a response that Zakharova would be proud of, from Alisher Qodirov, the deputy chairman of Uzbekistan’s lower house, who offered his opinion on Telegram.
"It would be better for [Russia] to deal with their own problems, which are not insufficient, than to deal with our internal issues," wrote Qodirov, who leads the Milliy Tiklanish (National Revival) Democratic Party.
"The violation of the rights of an Uzbek child at a school in Uzbekistan will be investigated in accordance with Uzbek laws. There is no advantage to stir up noise out of the blue," Qodirov wrote.‘Uzbekistan’s Zhirinovsky’
Qodirov is an atypical presence in Uzbekistan’s staid political scene, and he knows a few things about making noise.
In an op-ed for the Times of Central Asia newspaper earlier this month, Central Asia expert Bruce Pannier* called the lawmaker "Uzbekistan’s point man against Russian ‘chauvinism.’"
At the same time, given that Uzbekistan’s political system is still deeply authoritarian, Qodirov "would not be saying the things he is without approval from people high up in the government," Pannier argued, citing several comments made by Qodirov in opposition to Russian nationalism and the Soviet Union.
Notable among those was his suggestion at the beginning of the year to prevent Russian channels from broadcasting in Uzbekistan, after a Russian politician and an academic made deeply offensive remarks about the history and people of Central Asian countries.
And yet ironically Qodirov has often been called "Uzbekistan’s Zhirinovsky" -- a reference to the Russian nationalist firebrand politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who was a permanent fixture of post-Soviet politics in Russia for some three decades until his death in 2022.
The comparison is one that Qodirov himself resents.
In an October 2022 exchange with British journalist Joanna Lillis on X, Qodirov insisted that he was no chauvinist in the Zhirinovsky mold and instead stands for Uzbekistan’s "national development in harmony with our traditions [and] values."
And yet the same politician did once propose to deport members of Uzbekistan’s LGBT community, which is the kind of hyperbolic intolerance that Zhirinovsky was well known for.
That is only half of the reason that the tag has stuck.
Arguably more important is the fact that like Zhirinovsky, Qodirov has played the role of outspoken insider and "systemic opposition," while seemingly having no real political ambitions beyond the role he has been allocated.
In 2021, Qodirov was one of four candidates that faced off against President Shavkat Mirziyoev in the presidential election.
Many voters said that other than Mirziyoev, he was the only name on the ballot that they recognized.
But he was never going to threaten the incumbent’s dominance, especially after he made the unpopular proposal of taxing money sent by Uzbeks working abroad to their families in Uzbekistan.
Ahead of snap elections in 2023, Qodirov and his Milliy Tiklanish duly backed Mirziyoev’s candidacy.
New Environment, New Approach?
Even with all those caveats, Qodirov is something of a new phenomenon in Uzbekistan.
Under the quarter-century reign of Islam Karimov, few officials other than Karimov himself said anything remotely eye-catching.
That went for Mirziyoev, too, who spent 13 years as Karimov’s prime minister but only really came out of his shell after the hard-line leader died.
Uzbekistan’s diplomatic establishment, meanwhile, is cautious in the extreme.
Yet from Tashkent’s point of view, a new geopolitical environment possibly demanded a new approach.
Russia’s military involvement in Ukraine over the last decade has been accompanied by more aggressive rhetoric and a more assertive defense of its Soviet and imperial history.
Zakharova, who arrived in her current post in 2015, in some ways typifies this tendency.
And then there are all the Russian pundits, journalists, and lawmakers always ready to criticize and insult countries and societies that were formerly under Moscow’s direct control.
This kind of thing can keep Foreign Ministry press chiefs busy -- just ask Aibek Smadiyarov in Uzbekistan’s next-door neighbor, Kazakhstan.
Following Zakharova’s intervention, there were plenty of demands for a direct diplomatic response.
"Maybe we can tell those in the north who still consider themselves ‘big brother’ or ‘big sister’ that Uzbekistan is a sovereign state and that we can solve the problem of discipline in Uzbek schools ourselves?" private news outlet Gazeta.uz quoted Komil Dzhalilov, an expert in education, as saying on September 26.
Financial analyst Otabek Bakirov asked on X which Uzbek official would tell Russia that "what happens in schools in Uzbekistan is an internal matter of Uzbekistan."
Eventually, such a reaction was forthcoming, sort of.
Documenting his visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, Uzbek Foreign Minister Baxtiyor Saidov statedon his official Telegram channel on September 27 that his delegation had held talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his colleagues.
During the talks, the two parties "underscored the importance of commitment of states to the principle of noninterference in each other’s internal affairs for strengthening mutual trust," Saidov wrote.
Those kinds of statements, however, are for between-the-lines readers. For saying quiet parts out loud, there is Alisher Qodirov. Twitter
Afghanistan
Jahanzeb Wesa@JahanzebWesa
[9/28/2024 6:38 AM, 4.1K followers, 30 retweets, 54 likes]
Let’s be the voice of Alia and her fellow military Afghan women. Alia Azizi, a policewoman in Herat, was told she could return to work after the Taliban announced amnesty, but she never made it back home. Many Afghan military women are still in hiding, & living miserably. Pakistan
Government of Pakistan@GovtofPakistan
[9/28/2024 7:59 AM, 3.1M followers, 68 retweets, 211 likes]
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif with President of the United States of America, Joseph R. Biden Jr. and First Lady Dr. Jill Tracy Jacobs Biden at a reception hosted by the US President in honor of the heads of state and government. #PakatUNGA79 #PMShehbazAtUNGA #UNGA79
Shehbaz Sharif@CMShehbaz
[9/28/2024 12:58 PM, 6.7M followers, 393 retweets, 1.5K likes]
My brief meeting with US President Joe Biden @POTUS and First Lady Jill Biden during the President’s annual reception at #UNGA79 in New York was most cordial.
Shehbaz Sharif@CMShehbaz
[9/27/2024 12:13 PM, 6.7M followers, 1.9K retweets, 6.7K likes]
India’s policy of brutal coersion and oppression, in occupied Kashmir has ensured, that Burhan Wani’s legacy, continues to inspire, the struggle and sacrifices, of millions of Kashmiris. Inspired by the legitimacy, of their epic struggle, they remain defiant. #UNGA79
Shehbaz Sharif@CMShehbaz
[9/27/2024 12:15 PM, 6.7M followers, 158 retweets, 539 likes]
Their heart-wrenching stories, remind us, that behind, every statistic, lies a human life, a dream deferred, and a hope shattered. @UN during my address at the 79th session of the General Assembly
Shehbaz Sharif@CMShehbaz
[9/27/2024 11:22 AM, 6.7M followers, 1K retweets, 3.4K likes]
Since assuming office, in March this year, the progress and prosperity, of my 240 million people, has been my singular focus. We have taken difficult, but necessary decisions that have rescued our economy from collapse; restored, macroeconomic stability; controlled fiscal deficits, and strengthened our reserves. As a result, inflation has come downto a single digit, and the prospects, for economic growth, have revived. #UNGA79
Shehbaz Sharif@CMShehbaz
[9/27/2024 7:28 AM, 6.7M followers, 412 retweets, 1.8K likes]
Had an excellent meeting with H.E. K.P. Sharma Oli, Prime Minister of Nepal. Conveyed my warm sentiments for the people of Nepal. Expressed Pakistan’s desire to expand cooperation in all areas of mutual interest especially in commercial , economic, trade, and tourism sectors.
Anas Mallick@AnasMallick
[9/30/2024 2:11 AM, 73.7K followers, 6 retweets, 34 likes]
Renowned Muslim Scholar and cleric, Dr Zakir Naik arrives in Pakistan upon the invitation of the Government of Pakistan — He will stay in Pakistan up till the 28th of October — Visit comes just ahead of the Malaysian PMs visit to Pakistan later this week.
Anas Mallick@AnasMallick
[9/29/2024 2:02 PM, 73.7K followers, 9 retweets, 35 likes]
Pakistan has sent its 10th consignment of relief aid and items for the people of Palestine, the relief consignment will arrive in Amman in Jordan for onwards delivery to Palestine — Pakistan has constantly been sending relief and humanitarian supplies and aid to Palestine in the aftermath of the events of 7thOct’23.
Brahma Chellaney@Chellaney
[9/29/2024 3:11 AM, 266.5K followers, 126 retweets, 441 likes]
Despite military-backed regimes propped up by the US, Pakistan and Bangladesh are in dire straits, torn by internal violence and strapped for cash. IMF has just approved a $7bn loan for Pakistan (its second loan in 14 months) and is considering granting Bangladesh a $3bn bailout.
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman
[9/28/2024 10:35 AM, 213.5K followers, 61 retweets, 363 likes]
The IMF’s Pakistan chief praised the country’s macroeconomic stabilization & says it’s significant that it preceded finalization of the latest IMF program. But we’ve seen this movie many times before, and it tends not to end on a happy note because the plotline remains the same.
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman
[9/28/2024 10:35 AM, 213.5K followers, 2 retweets, 22 likes]
One among many concerns: So many eggs are being put in the SIFC basket, and so much policy focus is on boosting investment, that all the longstanding structural problems in the economy-which discourage investors-won’t get the attention they badly need. https://dawn.com/news/1861647 India
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[9/28/2024 11:23 AM, 102.4M followers, 3.7K retweets, 25K likes]
At 12:30 PM tomorrow, 29th September, will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone, via video conferencing, for development works in Maharashtra worth over Rs. 11,200 crore. This includes the Pune Metro section of District Court to Swargate, Bidkin Industrial Area, Solapur Airport and more. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=2059884®=3&lang=1
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[9/27/2024 1:49 PM, 102.4M followers, 11K retweets, 88K likes]
Deeply pained by the passing away of Pappammal Ji. She made a mark in agriculture, especially organic farming. People admired her for her humility and kind nature. My thoughts are with her family and well wishers. Om Shanti.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[9/29/2024 3:16 AM, 102.4M followers, 3K retweets, 11K likes]
Speaking at launch of various projects in Maharashtra. These will give a boost to urban development and significantly add to ‘Ease of Living’ for the people.
Dr. S. Jaishankar@DrSJaishankar
[9/29/2024 12:31 AM, 3.2M followers, 175 retweets, 783 likes]
Concluded an extremely fruitful week at #UNGA79. - Interactions with 75 Foreign Ministers and representatives. - Participated in 8 plurilaterals - G20, G4, IBSA, BRICS, L-69 & C-10, India-CARICOM, India-CELAC, BIMSTEC. - Attended events including Summit for Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats, BBNJ Treaty signing, Asia Society, ORF & PanIIT Alumni Foundation. - Delivered India’s statement at the 79th UNGA.
Truly a Vishwabandhu Bharat, committed to reformed multilateralism.
Dr. S. Jaishankar@DrSJaishankar
[9/28/2024 5:24 PM, 3.2M followers, 253 retweets, 1.4K likes]
Pleased to participate in the launch of PanIIT Alumni Foundation in New York. A good chat with Dr. Purnendu Chatterjee on developing a technology and manufacturing ecosystem in India. Appreciate the efforts and contributions of our diaspora in developing a #ViksitBharat. #UNGA79
Dr. S. Jaishankar@DrSJaishankar
[9/28/2024 2:03 PM, 3.2M followers, 1.8K retweets, 14K likes]
Delivered India’s statement at the 79th session of the @UN General Assembly. #UNGA79: https://mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/38353/National_Statement_by_External_Affairs_Minister_Dr_S_Jaishankar_at_the_General_Debate_of_the_79th_UN_General_Assembly
Dr. S. Jaishankar@DrSJaishankar
[9/27/2024 6:45 PM, 3.2M followers, 146 retweets, 1.1K likes]
So nice to meet @FM_Saidov of Uzbekistan today in New York. Appreciate the progress in our bilateral ties. Value his insights on the region. #UNGA79
Dr. S. Jaishankar@DrSJaishankar
[9/27/2024 6:42 PM, 3.2M followers, 114 retweets, 970 likes]
A warm meeting with DPM & FM Raşit Meredow of Turkmenistan. Extended greetings on Turkmenistan’s national day. Discussed further expanding our friendly ties. #UNGA79
Dr. S. Jaishankar@DrSJaishankar
[9/27/2024 3:53 PM, 3.2M followers, 254 retweets, 1.2K likes]
Chaired the BIMSTEC informal Foreign Ministers’ meeting in New York, in preparation for the BIMSTEC Leaders’ Summit.- Took stock of our close cooperation in health, food security, trade, investment, economy and energy.- Focused on improving physical, maritime and digital connectivity across the region. - Explored opportunities for capacity building, skill development and improving people to people ties.- Development of BIMSTEC Centres of Excellence is a collective resolve. Reaffirmed India’s commitment for wider engagement with BIMSTEC in line with Neighbourhood First, Vision SAGAR and Act East Policy. NSB
Awami League@albd1971
[9/30/2024 1:58 AM, 646.9K followers, 6 retweets, 9 likes]
Although floodwaters have begun to recede, the flood situation in Teesta shoal in parts of Lalmonirhat and Kurigram remains unchanged. Prolonged rainfall and water inflow from upstream India have caused the Teesta river to overflow, inundating vast areas. Over 60,000 people from 15,000 families across 21 unions in five upazilas of Lalmonirhat, as well as four unions in three upazilas of Kurigram, remain stranded, according to Water Development Board (WDB) sources. Read https://thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/flood-situation-teesta-shoals-remains-unchanged-despite-water-receding-3715916 #Bangladesh #BangladeshFloods #Floods
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman
[9/27/2024 11:41 AM, 213.5K followers, 42 retweets, 338 likes]
Yesterday, Muhammad Yunus said he won’t run in Bangladesh’s election (whenever it takes place). This is notable as it marks the first time he’s commented publicly on his political plans. I still wouldn’t rule out the student leaders forming a party and inviting him to join it.
Brahma Chellaney@Chellaney
[9/29/2024 8:37 AM, 266.5K followers, 799 retweets, 1.6K likes]
At last a Western media outlet reports the ugly truth: The U.S.-backed regime change in Bangladesh, far from empowering its people, has unleashed Islamist rampages. "Islamist extremists are gaining strength ... creating security concerns across Asia."
The President’s Office, Maldives@presidencymv
[9/27/2024 10:38 AM, 110.1K followers, 250 retweets, 252 likes]
The President meets with the Chief Advisor of the Interim Government of Bangladesh on the sidelines of UNGA 79 https://presidency.gov.mv/Press/Article/31741 #MaldivesAtUNGA79 #UNGA79
K P Sharma Oli@kpsharmaoli
[9/27/2024 4:36 PM, 859.1K followers, 47 retweets, 243 likes]
Addressed a public event @Kennedy_School on "Nepal’s Perspective: From Transitional Justice to Climate Justice." Highlighted significant strides in transitional justice. Also emphasized the urgent need for climate justice. Happy to interact with the students.
K P Sharma Oli@kpsharmaoli
[9/27/2024 1:23 PM, 859.1K followers, 79 retweets, 379 likes]
I’m heading to Harvard Kennedy School soon, but my heart is heavy with the news of heavy rains causing floods and landslides in Nepal. Please stay safe, everyone in affected areas. All relevant govt authorities stay alert to for necessary actions. #Nepal #StaySafe
Anura Kumara Dissanayake@anuradisanayake
[9/28/2024 4:50 AM, 127.4K followers, 104 retweets, 1.6K likes]
Attended the ‘Colombo International Book Fair,’ being held at the Bandaranaike International Conference Hall premises in Colombo today (28) morning. It’s being held for the 25th time on the occasion of Literature Month. I observed several stalls containing books from home and abroad and also engaged in a short conversation with the people present. The President of the Sri Lanka Book Publishers Association, Mr. Samantha Indivara, also presented me with the draft of the National Policy on Children’s Books.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake@anuradisanayake
[9/27/2024 8:01 AM, 127.4K followers, 102 retweets, 1.3K likes]
Appointed Senior DIG Priyantha Weerasooriya as the Acting Inspector General of Police. Central Asia
MFA Kazakhstan@MFA_KZ
[9/29/2024 3:21 AM, 52.9K followers, 4 retweets, 5 likes]
Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu met with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres at the UN headquarters in New York. https://gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa/press/news/details/854699?lang=en
MFA Kazakhstan@MFA_KZ
[9/28/2024 6:06 PM, 52.9K followers, 9 retweets, 11 likes]
Murat Nurtleu, Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, addressed the general debate of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly. https://gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa/press/news/details/854683?lang=en
MFA Kazakhstan@MFA_KZ
[9/28/2024 3:51 AM, 52.9K followers, 8 retweets, 9 likes]
Within the framework of the 79th session of the #UNGA, the “С5+1” Ministerial meeting was held with the participation of Foreign Ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and US Secretary of State https://gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa/press/news/details/854632?lang=en MFA Tajikistan@MOFA_Tajikistan
[9/28/2024 4:46 AM, 5K followers, 2 retweets, 3 likes]
Meeting with the U.S. Chief of Mission for Afghanistan https://mfa.tj/en/main/view/15833/meeting-with-the-us-chief-of-mission-for-afghanistan
MFA Tajikistan@MOFA_Tajikistan
[9/28/2024 4:47 AM, 5K followers, 4 retweets, 6 likes]
Participation of the Foreign Minister at the Ministerial “C5+1” Meeting https://mfa.tj/en/main/view/15832/participation-of-the-foreign-minister-at-the-ministerial-c51-meeting
Navbahor Imamova@Navbahor
[9/29/2024 2:28 PM, 23.7K followers, 6 retweets, 14 likes]
Terrible that they never take questions. Nearly 10 years of C5+1 existence, no Central Asian FM has ever discussed this dialogue with journalists @UN/anywhere as far as we know. Their UNGA program doesn’t include media engagement. Zero change despite claims of reform @State_SCA @SecBlinken
Bakhtiyor Saidov@FM_Saidov
[9/28/2024 10:14 AM, 8.1K followers, 6 retweets, 20 likes]
Glad to meet @UN Secretary-General H.E. @AntonioGuterres at the United Nations Headquarters. Delivered the greetings of @President_Uz H.E. Shavkat Mirziyoyev and congratulated with the start of #UNGA79 and successful Summit of Future. Ongoing support of the UN Secretariat and it’s institutions of comprehensive reform agenda in #Uzbekistan is very much appreciated.
Bakhtiyor Saidov@FM_Saidov
[9/28/2024 9:34 AM, 8.1K followers, 3 retweets, 14 likes]
On the margins of #UNGA79 met with H.E. @DrSJaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of #India. Our rich agenda included the topics of cooperation in transport connectivity, positive trends of trade growth, holding the fourth Central Asia - India Ministerial Meeting, as well as collaboration in the @UN and other international organizations.
Bakhtiyor Saidov@FM_Saidov
[9/28/2024 9:32 AM, 8.1K followers, 2 retweets, 9 likes]
The preparation for the Second Summit of the Heads of State of the GCC–Central Asia Strategic Dialogue in Samarkand next year was the central topic of our meeting today H.E. Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (@GCCSG). Undoubtedly, there is a lot in common between our two regions - from religion to traditions.
Saida Mirziyoyeva@SMirziyoyeva
[9/28/2024 8:58 AM, 20K followers, 35 retweets, 264 likes]
Tashkent hosted a forum to exchange expertise between UZB & UAE. The event featured insightful discussions on a wide range of governance and social development topics. I am confident that this forum will further solidify the mutually beneficial partnership between our countries.{End of Report} To subscribe to the SCA Morning Press Clips, please email SCA-PressOfficers@state.gov. Please do not reply directly to this email.